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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Sierra (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Sierra. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Sierra is located in Costilla County.

To see how the shape of Colorado's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Costilla County: Alamosa, Conejos, Huerfano, Las Animas, Colfax (NM) & Taos (NM).

Below are the counties that are near Sierra. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sierra:

  • Costilla County     (The home county of Sierra)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sierra, with the one closest to Sierra listed first.
    • Russell ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
      • Russell is located in Costilla County
    • Garland City ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garland City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland City
      • Garland City is located in Costilla County
    • Fort Garland
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Blanca
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • San Luis
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for San Luis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Luis
      • San Luis is located in Costilla County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 692 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for San Luis <2>
    • Chama
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chama have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chama
      • Chama is located in Costilla County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chama <2>
    • San Pablo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for San Pablo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Pablo
      • San Pablo is located in Costilla County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for San Pablo <2>
    • San Acacio
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Huerfano County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sierra, with the one closest to Sierra listed first.
    • Muleshoe
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Muleshoe. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muleshoe
      • Muleshoe is located in Huerfano County
    • Uptop ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uptop
      • Uptop is located in Huerfano County
    • La Veta Pass
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for La Veta Pass. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Veta Pass
      • La Veta Pass is located in Huerfano County
    • Cuchara
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • La Veta
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Red Wing
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Gardner
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Alamo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamo
      • Alamo is located in Huerfano County
    • Tioga
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tioga. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tioga
      • Tioga is located in Huerfano County
    • Bradford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bradford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
      • Bradford is located in Huerfano County
    • Calumet
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calumet
      • Calumet is located in Huerfano County
    • Walsenburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walsenburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walsenburg
      • Walsenburg is located in Huerfano County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,003 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walsenburg <2>
  • Las Animas County
    • Monument Park
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monument Park
      • Monument Park is located in Las Animas County
  • Saguache County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sierra, with the one closest to Sierra listed first.
    • Liberty ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
      • Liberty is located in Saguache County
    • Duncan ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
      • Duncan is located in Saguache County

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sierra, see our County-by-County Page for Sierra.

Cemeteries Near Sierra ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sierra.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sierra covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sierra, with the one closest to Sierra listed first.

  • Oak View Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak View Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Brennaman Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brennaman Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brennaman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Myer Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Myer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Myer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ft. Garland Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ft. Garland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ft. Garland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mac Mullan Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mac Mullan Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mac Mullan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Blanca Trinchera Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blanca Trinchera Cemetery
    • The Blanca Trinchera Cemetery has also been known as:
    • New Ft. Garland Cemetery
  • Yellowstone Creek Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Chama Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chama Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chama Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sanches Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sanches Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sanches Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gonzales Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gonzales Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gonzales Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • La Veta Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the La Veta Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the La Veta Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<4> to the west of La Veta.
    • The La Veta Cemetery has also been known as:
    • La Veta Spanish Cemetery
    • La Wahatoya Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2256280 <5>
  • Old La Veta Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old La Veta Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old La Veta Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (22 more) ...
    • Chavez Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chavez Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chavez Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Pioneer Urraca Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Urraca Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Urraca Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Uracca Pioneer Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<6>

While we didn't find Sierra in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sierra.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Sierra, with the one closest to Sierra listed first.

  • Russell ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
    • Russell is located in Costilla County
  • Garland City ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garland City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland City
    • Garland City is located in Costilla County
  • Muleshoe
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Muleshoe. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muleshoe
    • Muleshoe is located in Huerfano County
  • Fort Garland
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Blanca
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Sharpsdale
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sharpsdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharpsdale
    • Sharpsdale is located in Huerfano County
  • La Veta
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Malachite
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Malachite have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malachite
    • Malachite is located in Huerfano County
  • Gardner
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Badito
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Badito have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Badito
    • Badito is located in Huerfano County
  • Tioga
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tioga. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tioga
    • Tioga is located in Huerfano County
  • San Luis
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for San Luis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Luis
    • San Luis is located in Costilla County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 692 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for San Luis <2>
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Bradford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bradford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
      • Bradford is located in Huerfano County
    • Pictou
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pictou have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pictou
      • Pictou is located in Huerfano County
    • Walsenburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walsenburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walsenburg
      • Walsenburg is located in Huerfano County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,003 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walsenburg <2>

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sierra. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sierra.

Newspapers Published in Sierra ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 22 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sierra.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sierra, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sierra.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Sierra:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Sierra. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Colorado: https://www.colorado.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sierra) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sierra. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.5225, Longitude: -105.2695       In this case, the coordinates for Sierra have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<6>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Sierra, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025